


Lunchtime

by C_Syns



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018)
Genre: Gen, Snacks & Snack Food, Turtle Tots (TMNT), no tcesters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:42:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27059716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/C_Syns/pseuds/C_Syns
Summary: The Turtles, children, and home alone, decide to experiment with new and interesting ways to make lunch.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 38





	Lunchtime

“Sandwich!”

“Noodles!”

Donnie and Raph sat between Leo and Mikey, following the argument as if it were a sport, turning one way and the other as each brother opened his mouth in favor of their own choice for lunch.

“Sandwiches are for babies!” Mikey said, at 6 he was older than that.

“Are not!” Leo said, at 7 he disagreed, stamping his foot.

“Are too!”

“Raph, tell him it’s noodles.”

“Raph, tell him it’s sandwiches.”

Raph looked between his two brothers, Leo was scowling slightly, and Mikey was frowning.

“Uh.”

“I have a suggestion.” Donnie said. Raph sighed and looked at Donnie.

“Pasta and bread are both the same part of the food pyramid, ergo we can replace the bread with noodles and make everyone happy.” Donnie said, smiling at his own answer.

Leo and Mikey both looked at Donnie, blinking. Leo screwed his face up, thinking, and Mikey stuck his tongue out, also thinking.

“Okay!” Mikey said.

“Yeah, okay.” Leo and Mikey shook hands and both looked to Raph. Raph nodded and trooped into the kitchen. He brought out the big red pasta bowl and a box of spiral shaped noodles, he pushed a chair over to stand on as he poured the pasta into the bowl and filled it with water. He, very carefully, put the bowl into the microwave and hit the ‘5’. As the microwave started, and droned on, Raph climbed off the chair.

He picked the jar of peanut butter out of the pantry and looked at his brothers.

“Purple jelly or red?” He asked.

“Purple!” Donnie shouted.

“Red!” Mikey and Leo shouted together.

“We win!” Leo said, sticking his tongue out at Donnie.

Donnie turned to Raph, and behind his glasses his eyes were big, and watery, almost wibbling and wobbling themselves. Raph sighed. 

“I’ll have purple with Donnie.” He said.

The peanut butter and jellies were wet next to the microwave, along with another bowl. 

“You guys should set the table” Raph said.

There were three nods as Donnie went to grab bowls, Leo silverware, and Mikey cups. The bowls were plastic, one was Jupiter Jim themed, one was Lion themed, and one was tree themed and one was plain, lemon yellow. The cups didn’t match at all, two being pirate themed, one being glittery, and one plain, frosted clear plastic. The silverware were almost matched, all the forks and spoons had plastic, orange and white striped handles, except for one fork, with a plain blue handle. 

Leo, Donnie, and Mikey set the table. Mikey got the lion bowl and glitter cup, Leo and Donnie both got pirate cups, with Leo getting the Jupiter Jim Bowl and Donnie the tree bowl. Raphael got the plain cup and bowl.

When the microwave beeped Raph opened it, and delicately pulled the big bowl out. He didn’t try to lift the bowl, scooting it over the counter to the sink. The striner was already waiting, in the sink, and he stuck his tongue out the side of his mouth and concentrated on his task, sweating. Barely any noodles missed the strainer and he jumped, happily. The chair tipped and he clung to it as its lifted 2 feet hit the ground with a thud.

He climbed off the chair and strained on his tiptoes to grab the strainer. The two big bowls were filled as equally as Raph could manage, eyeing the amount carefully and using a spoon to dole out ever decreasing abouts between the two.

Both bowls got a huge spoonful of peanut butter, that sat like a brown egg in the nest of pasta around it. He stirred the peanut butter into the pasta, for each bowl, until the heat, and motion left the noodles coated, with a lumpy, bumpy, ugly sauce. He opened up the jellies and stirred each in their jars until they were more smooth and less like congealed, jar shaped lumps with a solid jello like texture. One bowl got a heaping spoon of grape jelly, and one got a heaping spoonful of strawberry. Each one got mixed thoroughly and completely. The noodles were coated in peanut butter still, but streaks of red, or purple streaked through the bowls. Both had a new sheen to them, and in the strawberry bowl bits of berries and seeds were visible in the jellie streaks.

“Okay. Lunch.” Raph said. He hefted one bowl up to the kitchen table, then the other. Donnie pulled a half empty gallon of milk from their tiny refrigerator and placed it on the table. Raph pushed his chair up to the table and climbed on it again. The bowls of peanut butter and jelly pasta were split, each in half. Donnie got half of the peanut butter and grape pasta, and Raph the other half, and Leo got half the peanut butter and strawberry pasta, and Mikey the other half.

Donnie climbed up on his chair and poured milk for himself. Leo and Mikey both pushed their cups to him, pouting and whining and he poured them their milk too. Raph took the milk to pour himself milk.

With the food doled out Raph and Donnie climbed down, Donnie into the seat, and Raph to put the milk away and then get back to his seat. The four turtles each took up their forks, Leo go the blue one, and took big bites of their lunch.

Donnie and Raph both got the taste of peanut butter, the jellie was there, yes, but it wasn’t overwhelming. It made the pasta taste familiar, despite the soft, slurpable vehicle it was served on. It was perfectly and utterly bland.

Leo and Mikey both got the taste of strawberry jelly, sweet, cloying and overpowering. The sickly, syrupy berry taste drowned the salt of the peanut butter and clung to their tongues just as much as it clung to the pasta. It was more desert than lunch and utterly and incredibly wrong on all levels.

Leo screwed up his face and pushed the bowl away from him as he swallowed, a shudder passing from his head to his toes.

Mikey spit the half chewed mouthful off food into his hand and held it there while he drank a big sip of milk. 

Donnie laughed into his food.

“I knew purple was better.” He said, smugly.

Raph sighed and looked at Donnie, shaking his head at him.

Leo and Mikey both pushed their bowls away. 

“Raph that was bad. Lemme try yours.” Leo said, his hand forming a claw as he reached for Raph’s food. Mikey didn’t say anything but joined in reaching, his eyes wide and shining with a sad, almost teary light.

Raph sighed and pushed his bowl between the two of them. Leo and Mikey each laid a hand on the rim of the bowl and pulled it between them. They each took their respective spoons and started shoveling food into their maws with wild, feral abandon.

Raphael frowned and pulled Leos bowl close. He hesitantly took a spoonful of the pasta and stared at it before he put it into his mouth. He pulled back, shaking his head and snorting at the overly sweet flavor. He glanced at Leo and Mikey, they were too busy trying to scrap as much pasta to ‘their side’ of the bowl as possible.

He steeled all the nerves an 8 year old had and ate his too sweet, all wrong lunch, with many a grimace and funny face.

In the end there were two empty bowls, one half empty, and one totally full were piled into the sink as the brothers finished (or happily abandoned) lunch in favor of playing Lair Tag. Which was normal tag, but with lair rules (lair rules subject to change, at any random time, by anyone, check with all other brothers to determine if you are cheating).

When Splinter returned from his supply trip/grocery shopping to Leo, Raph, and Donnie hanging on pipes, yelling instructions to a blindfolded Mikey he sighed and shook his head.

“Don’t run him into the table.” He said as he passed by to put away the good he’d gotten.

In the kitchen he noted the mostly clean nature of the room, no food was left out (for once) and the dishes were in the sink. The rings of milk on the table were barely something to note. He smiled and set down his bags on the counter. He reached for the sponge and stopped.

“Boys, did you make peanut butter and jelly spaghetti?” He asked, with disgust, and despite the fact that it was clearly rotini.

**Author's Note:**

> Did I actually make peanut butter and jelly pasta to decide what these tasted like?   
> Yes.  
> Was grape way better?   
> Yes  
> Was it the best?  
> No, I also tried lingonberry b/c I had it.
> 
> I've never made something like this but in my experience being the oldest does mean you have to be in charge of food disagreements, if that means picking something you don't like, or making a second, separate dinner for picky.


End file.
